WILMINGTON — After several rocky go-arounds with the city of Wilmington, numerous delays, and a disappointing summer season, big changes are coming to the Riverwalk development including outposts of Charlotte-based restaurants BlackFinn Ameripub and Vida Mexican Kitchen y Cantina.
The restaurants announced a tentative opening date back in 2013, but the restaurants faced a series of construction delays. Earlier this year, disagreements with the city again delayed the restaurants’ opening. BlackFinn eventually opened, but Vida Cantina didn’t.
Now, developer Chuck Schoninger has announced plans to break with the Charlotte-based restaurants and overhaul both locations, as well as The Shell, the performance space serviced by BlackFinn.
Vida Cantina, which never managed to open – even after issues with the city were resolved – will remain closed for several months. Schoninger didn’t comment on why Vida never opened. He said he hoped to keep specifics for the overhaul under wraps for the time being, but that the new restaurant will not be Mexican-themed.
The new restaurant in the Vida Cantina location will open in March or early April, according to Schoninger.
BlackFinn will close during the second week of January, and remain closed for about two weeks, while Schoninger and his team rebrand it as Marina Grill. Schoninger said he was bringing in a restaurant management group from Denver, to help retrain staff, and a new head chef to improve the menu. He also said a new mixology team was coming from Raleigh.
Schoninger said kitchen and wait staff would “still have a job,” when the changes were completed.
The renovations and employee retraining are aimed at elevating the ambiance of the restaurant, Schoninger said.
Schoninger said BlackFinn had been “mildly successful,” but not enough to dispel his concerns about the Charlotte-based chain’s larger corporate problems. Schoninger also said he was disenchanted with the restaurant’s ambiance and service.
“Every time I was in there, it struck me as a glorified Chili’s,” Schoninger said. “And I was unhappy with the service — I’d see customers with 25 percent of their drink left and clearly no one was checking on them.”
Schoninger said that, “given the location, the view, the ambiance of the restaurants, we want it to be something better, something great.”
The Shell will get a new director of operations, with food and beverage services through the newly-christened Marina Grill. Schoninger said The Shell will “have the same basic philosophy, the same kind of shows,” but that he hopes to provide better service.
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